Bluff
by Wintertrain
Summary: After the Pretty Little Liars's experience with A, faux reports of blackmail have been sweeping the nation. But what if three girls from Hallberg, Virginia, weren't lying when they said they got messages from A?
1. Chapter 1

Imagine you're sitting on the couch the day after Freshman year has joyfully ended, and you're flipping through the channels. You pass by all the immature children's shows and weird fishing shows – those seem to be popping up everywhere nowadays – and you almost pass by the local news station until you see a picture of a girl your age.

She looks a bit like one of those girls everyone worships at your school. She has that confident smile and wild eyes that tell you she's born to please but acts out on a daily basis.

You are just about to change the channel again until you read the caption to her picture: _Dead_.

You start to wonder how a girl as pretty as her is dead. Homicide? Suicide? No, no. That can't be it. She's too good for those things.

Think again.

oOo

Jaime Orchman plopped herself down on the couch in her own house, her best friend, Hailey Yorkshire, not hesitating to join her.

"This house is enormous," Hailey says, searching the living room with her bright, blue eyes. "I haven't seen anything like it!"

_I doubt that,_ Jaime thought, internally rolling her eyes.

Hailey looked flawless with her scrunched brown hair and practically no make-up on. She still wore her last-day-of-spring-break-outfit: A v-neck shirt with a camisole, gladiator sandals, and jeans shorts. Even something as simple as that looked like runway material on Hailey.

Hailey didn't dress the way she lived, though. Her father was a multi-millionaire who owned one of the most successful businesses in Washington DC. That business would be the essential to all life – coffee.

Calling Jaime's mediocre estate massive was an understatement, and they both knew it.

The side door opened as soon as Hailey stopped talking. In came Cameron Max, the low-living, low-class, softball superstar.

She turned her Milwaukee Brewers baseball cap so the brim stuck out behind her head. "In comes Miss Fabulous," Hailey joked, making Cameron's face turn a light red.

Hailey was always like that. Harsh humor was her best friend, not any of the people who she claimed were her best friends for life.

Cameron shuffled her way over to the ottoman, sitting stiffly on it as if someone was judging her posture. She opened her mouth to speak before a knock sounded from the front door.

"I'll get it!" Jaime shouted, jumping up from the couch before the others could even process what she had just said. She skipped outs of the room, noticing that Cameron and Hailey were arguing in a hush-hush tone, and made her way to the foyer. There, she opened the door to her large house and let in Finnley Archer, the fourth and final member of their friendship.

Finnley brushed her short hair out of her face – it was unusually windy for a mid-spring day – before smiling at Jaime. "Welcome to my humble abode," Jaime jokingly said, ushering her in so they didn't lose too much air conditioning.

Finnley briskly walked past her, her blonde hair bobbing from side to side as she found her way to the living room. Almost immediately, Hailey and Cameron's conversation stopped.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Hailey said, glaring. "How's Nick?"

Finnley briefly let a look of embarrassment slide over her face before she regained her composure. "He's fine. Thanks for asking."

Jaime looked at Cameron uncertainly. Hailey _never_ talked about Nick. Cameron thought the same, her eyes moving back and forth between Hailey and Jaime.

"Anyways, guys," Hailey said, catching everyone's attention. "I think we should go on a little adventure tonight!"

They all exchanged looks. It was the last day of spring break, after all, and nothing extremely exciting had happened to any of them. Cameron had gone to Wisconsin to visit family; Jaime went to Barbados with her older brother, Peter; and Finnley and Hailey had stayed home, opting for more easy-to-access activities. They might as well let it end with a bang.

"Alright," Cameron answered. "What type of adventure?"

Hailey occasionally had them doing weird things, like stealing the school's mascot costume and framing their bad biology teacher just to get him fired. They were usually fun – for them, at least – and helpful. Their track record for completing these tasks even gave them a bit of an advantage over others.

"We're going into the woods behind your house and going hunting," Hailey says, a bit of a smile coming on her face. "We might even see some _ghosts_!"

Another uncertain look passed around the room. The woods were rumored to be the spot of a huge massacre back before Hallberg, Virginia, was established. Plus, that was probably the number one spot in town to get lost in, as well as get high.

"Come on, guys," Hailey said, getting a bit mad. "You have to, right?" She turns to Jaime. "I mean, isn't that what your uncle would want you to do?"

Jaime's face became a bit stony before she said, "Shut up, Hailey."

They had a little stare off for a moment before Finnley broke the silence. "I think it sounds like fun," she awkwardly said.

Hailey's face perked up. "Great!"

They let Hailey lead them out of the safety of Jaime's house, and right into the ominous woods. It took about three seconds before Cameron realized they had nothing to hunt with, and spoke up about it.

"Don't worry," Hailey said as she reached behind a tree and pulled out three shotguns. "These are always here. On the Fourth of July, some seniors come out here and shoot them in the sky because they can't afford fireworks!"

She handed two of the guns to Cameron and Finnley, and left one with herself. "You guys are going to have to pair up," she said. She then gave them a wide smile and started off into the unknown. "Happy hunting! And if one of us is in danger, just shout and we'll come to you, okay?"

When she was out of sight, Jaime decided to pair up with Cameron, who looked down at the shotgun in her hands as if it was a note from the bank stating that you had gone bankrupt. Finnley went off on her own, staying close to the edge of the woods, her gun pointed down at the ground.

Jaime took the gun out of Cameron's hands, and said, "I can't believe this is what blows out our roof every year."

Cameron nodded, leading the way through the unknown territory that she would rather die than be in. Jaime followed behind, examining the gun and not looking where she was going.

After a few minutes, they heard a gunshot go off, startling them both. Jaime fell flat on her face, dropping the gun and shooting it accidently. "Oh my god," she said, covering her ears as if they were bleeding.

In the distance, they heard the sound of Hailey screaming with delight. At least, it sounded like delight.

"Hailey?" Cameron shouted. "Are you okay?"

She didn't respond.

"This place is giving me the creeps," Jaime immediately said, getting up and tugging at Cameron's softball t-shirt. "Let's go."

"We're leaving!" Cameron shouted before hearing another gunshot. No one shouted back. Jaime picked up her pace, and pulled Cameron behind her.

They went back to Jaime's backyard, where they waited for Finnley and Hailey to return. Jaime sat on the deck, her leg bouncing up and down with nerves. Cameron found a stray softball and started to throw it up in the air, making herself run around the yard to catch it.

Finnley came back after a half hour. She joined Jaime on the bench, hiding the gun she was given earlier underneath.

Hailey didn't come back. A search was sent out by her parents. Her older sister, Stephanie, stopped her backpacking trip around Europe just to come back to Hallberg and help out. Hallberg was never the same – every corner reminded everyone that an innocent girl was killed right in their area of town.

Finnley, Jaime, and Cameron were interviewed extensively before the search started to die down. They didn't want to tell anyone about anything, but Cameron spilt the beans about their adventure, and then Finnley and Jaime elaborated. It was useful information, but not enough to draw conclusions or even find the body – if it really was a murder.

When summer came, Hailey Yorkshire was declared dead by the authorities. The girls each moved on a little bit – but not enough to keep their best friend off of their minds. Jaime released her emotions into figure skating; Cameron moved to Milwaukee; and Finnley found a long-term boyfriend to take her mind off of things.

One at a time, everyone in Hallberg forgot about the mysterious case of Hailey Yorkshire. The only people who showed any grief were her parents and her older sister, who had gotten married soon after her death decree. Their lives went on, though.

Finnley, Jaime, and Cameron felt a bit _relieved_ that their friend was gone – she harbored many dark secrets about all of them, and they were now safe.

And for a little over a year, they were.


	2. Chapter 2

"Jaime, arch your back a little bit," her figure skating coach told her. "The judges will drool in their seats if you do!"

Jaime did just as she was told, arching her back a bit as she skated across the rink to her partner, Walker. He stuck out his long, muscled arm a moment before they collided, resulting in him picking her up effortlessly and twirling her around. Jaime felt a little girlish giggle rise into her mouth, but she pressed it down, knowing Coach would not like that display of affection while in competition.

Plus, her brother would never let her hear the end of it.

She looked down at Walker's face. He was looking up at her with his mysterious brown eyes that every girl at school would go crazy for. A look of admiration was displayed on his gorgeous face – admiration for her skill as well as her beauty, she knew.

Jaime and Walker had been dating for a year now, since the beginning of sophomore year for her and senior year for him. He may now be at Virginia Tech with her brother, but they work out their relationship.

Jaime looked away from his face, suddenly remembering that her brother was watching.

Walker set her down on the ice, and she immediately slid across the rink, making figure eights as he followed her example on the opposite side.

"Stop!" their coach called. "That's good progress, people. We might end up changing the routine, but it's good as it is."

She dismiss the two from the rink, and Peter was up and out of his seat, waiting for Walker and his sister at the door.

"Nice job today, guys," she smiled. Walker put his arm around Jaime as they walked out of the rink and into the lobby. She forced herself to do the same.

_We're in a public place, now_, she reminded herself. _This is your time with him_.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Walker suddenly said, looking at Peter. "I'll be right back, Jaime." He gave her a distracted kiss on the cheek before he left her.

Soon enough, Peter declared the same thing and left her alone in the lobby.

Jaime sighed, hitching her bag of everything up father on her shoulder. She took a seat at a bench and unlaced her skates, trying not to think of what is going on in the bathroom at that moment.

Finally, she couldn't stop herself from facing the truth.

_Walker and Peter are gay._

But, seeing as they both come from families that actually matter – Peter and Jaime's father is a representative in the House of Representatives and Walker's mother is the senator of their part of Virginia – they couldn't be public about it. So they made a cover, which was Jaime. When in public, Walker was dating Jaime. When alone and no one can see him, he's with Peter. It made it easier that they both went to the same university and that they were roommates.

The problem was, Jaime actually liked Walker. He was sweet, funny, and handsome. She loves when they got to have public make-out sessions and he was all hers. But she knew deep down that he never felt anything for her and never will.

_ He loves Peter._

She got frustrated at the thought and threw her skates into her bag. She didn't even wait for her alleged boyfriend and his boyfriend. She instead left the building, found her Mercedes, and drove away.

_Walker can ride with Peter and see how hard it is to stay away. That's for squashing my heart_.

Instead of driving home, though, Jaime drove over to Sally Turner's house. It was a large, French-style manor that challenged the size of Buckingham Palace. Jaime pulled into the winding brownstone driveway, parked, and went up to the front door.

She knocked three times and Sally came out almost immediately. One look at Sally's tan face and disheveled platinum-blonde hair told Jaime that she was drunk on a Wednesday afternoon.

Jaime smiled a bit at being in the presence of her friend. After the whole Hailey thing happened, Jaime was lost and in the tabloids, which caused everyone to know she was lost. Sally was the one person who tolerated her constant breakdowns and crying – her best friend committed suicide when she was thirteen, so they bonded.

"Whaddaya want?" Sally slurred, gripping the door frame for support.

"Rum," they both said in unison. Sally chuckled. "Should've known."

Sally made way for Jaime, who led the way to the cellar. She climbed down several stairs before her moccasin-clad feet hit the squeaky wood floor. It was cold because it was cold outside, and it smelt like alcohol and grapes due to the wine that had been aging down there for generations. Jaime pulled her Hallberg High School jacket closer to her body as she took a seat in an old lounge chair. Sally sat beside her, opening a big bottle of rum with her bare hands.

"What's the matter?" Sally asked, pouring some rum into little crystal cups.

"Just a tiring practice," Jaime lied, shrugging her shoulders. "I need to blow off some steam."

"No boyfriend today?" Sally noticed.

Jaime smirked, remembering last weekend. She had brought Walker over here, and he, Sally, and Jaime had all drank at least two bottles of Jack Daniels each. Walker had serenaded Jaime with a mash up of several cheesy Disney songs, and even through the drunken haze she was in she could still recall that these quirks of his actions are what make him even more lovable.

"Was Coach a bitch? That woman needs to get her attitude checked," Sally added.

"Coach is always a bitch," Jaime agreed, talking a cup from Sally and raising it in the air. "To Coach's bitchiness!"

Sally laughed uncontrollable, but still managed to clank glasses with Jaime.

And, for a few hours, as Jaime got drunk and Sally got drunker, Jaime forgot all about her love-life's problems.

She even convinced herself that she was an independent woman who doesn't need a man to make her happy.

But, deep down, she knew she was lying.


	3. Chapter 3

Cameron sat outside on the front-porch swing of her new house in an old place. On her lap was her little sister, Corey, who couldn't seem to get enough of the rocking motions the seat brought.

Courtney observed people as they walked by – new mothers pushing along newborns in strollers, jogging-obsessed people, and the occasional teenager enjoying their freedom before they had to go back to school.

Cameron gently pushes Corey off of her lap, saying, "It's time to go in now." She knew that it wasn't – it wasn't even dark and nowhere near dinner time – but she wanted to think alone for a bit. Corey did as she asked and went inside of their new house.

Cameron looked out to the streets again, sighing.

Hallberg, Virginia, was nothing like Milwaukee. It didn't have the greenest grass and it didn't have its own baseball team that some people – including Cameron – have been life-long fans of. It certainly didn't have mysteries, like Hailey Yorkshire's disappearance.

A woman came into sight, and Cameron took a moment to try to match her face with a name. She looked at the little baby in the stroller she was pushing, and a light-bulb went off in her head.

Stephanie Yorkshire-Terrance, Hailey's older sister.

_She was still hanging around Hallberg_? Cameron thought in disbelief. Stephanie was one of those people who always wanted to go to New York or Las Angeles and she'd fit in with the crowd. Stephanie had big dreams ever since she graduated from Princeton three years ago, but it seems that all those dreams went out the window.

Stephanie looked up from her newborn, and immediately saw Cameron. "Cameron?" she asked, stopping the stroller. "Is that you?"

Cameron stood up from her seat and strode over to Stephanie. "It is!" she squealed with excitement. "I haven't seen you all year!"

Cameron thought she was having memory-loss or something – Stephanie never talked to her. The only reason they even interacted were their parents and….

Cameron forced herself not to think of her name.

"Oh, yeah," Cameron said. "We moved up to Milwaukee for a bit. Mom, Corey and I all came back down here. Dad preferred to stay there."

"Are they split up?" Stephanie asked, eyes full of genuine concern.

Cameron swallowed and nodded. "Yeah. I guess you could say that."

Cameron didn't want to tell Stephanie, out of all people, the truth about her parents' relationship. It would ruin her life.

The only person who knew that was dead, and it was going to stay that way.

Cameron's eyes moved to the baby. "Oh, how cute!" she said. "Boy or girl?"

Stephanie smiled proudly. "Girl. She's nearly a month old!"

"She's so adorable!" Cameron added. "What's her name?"

Stephanie pauses for a moment, but still said "Hailey" enthusiastically.

Cameron's stomach lurched. She could feel herself sweating, and she suddenly felt eager to run away.

"Well, it was nice seeing you," Stephanie suddenly said, smiling and starting to push the stroller in the direction she came from. "Is your mom coming to my parent's dinner party?"

Cameron remembered from past years that the Yorkshire family had a dinner party every year to celebrate anything they could find – promotions, awards, good grades on tests. It was a party where it could be all about you and no one asked or told what they were celebrating. There were people dancing in the parlor and teenagers snagging drinks without the adults knowing. There was always one big, dramatic fiasco that went on, ending the party. It had been that way for years.

Or, so Cameron had been told, since she didn't start going until she became friends with Hailey.

"I think so," Cameron answered. Stephanie's smile widened as she pushed the stroller farther away from Cameron. "Great! I'll see you there!" Stephanie called.

Cameron put her hands behind her head, a little overwhelmed for no apparent reason. The mention of Hailey did that to her. It was as if Hailey's ghost lingered near Cameron and she was tormenting her. No matter how hard she tried, Cameron could never get Hailey completely off of her mind.

Cameron stuck her head through the front door, calling out for her mother. "I'm going to the fields!" she shouted.

And, with that, Cameron drove her family's beat-up mustang '65 to the baseball fields, right next to Hallberg High School.

Cameron took a seat out in the metal bleachers, enjoying the sight of little boys playing baseball with their dads. She barely even noticed that a guy her age had sat next to her until he talked.

"I haven't seen you here," he said.

"Well, I guess you could say that I just moved to Hallberg," she replied, looking at him.

He was tall, taller than Cameron, with brown eyes and an attractive face. His tousled brown hair stuck out from under his Boston Red Socks cap.

"You guess?" he asked. "Like, you've lived here before?"

"All of my life except for last year," she said. "Last year was a bad year for my family."

"What's your name?" the guy asked, smiling cutely.

"Cameron Max," she quickly replied.

His face lit up. "You used to be best friends with my sister, Finnley!"

Cameron looked at his face again and started to suddenly see his and Finnley's similarities. "Nick?"

"The one and only!" he happily said.

They caught up for an hour, watching the boys play baseball with their dads. They shared their love for the great game with each other. They talked about times with Finnley. They bonded.

"Hey, I have to go," Nick said after a while, looking at the time on his phone. "Could I get your number?"

Cameron nodded, swiping his phone out of his hands and punching in her digits. "We could go out this weekend," she suggested, giving back the phone.

Nick smiled. "Yeah. I'd like that."

He left a minute later with a promise of a date and a smile on his face. Cameron drove home by herself, barely able to keep a grin off of her face.

This wasn't Cameron Max, the unnoticed softball player.

This was Cameron Max, the desirable softball player from Hallberg, Virginia.


	4. Chapter 4

Finnley stared up at the night sky, running over algorithms in her head. It always made her calm when she was stressed.

Finnley had been thinking of algorithms a lot lately.

Was it Finnley's fault that she was meant to be hacking computers instead of doing schoolwork? No! It was her parents and her brother's fault.

Half the time, she hacked to make their lives better, and they didn't even know it.

Finnley intended to keep it that way.

A window behind her opened, and Finnley craned her neck to see who it was. Her twin brother, Nick, was climbing out onto the roof, looking a bit satisfied with himself.

"It seems a little too nice for a geek like you to be out," he said, sitting Indian-style next to her.

"Hey, I can only change your grades so many times before I need to clear my conscience," Finnley responded, throwing him a triumphant smile. She had won this round.

School wasn't even in session yet, and Nick had already told Finnley his whole schedule so she could get a head start on hacking his teacher's accounts. Nick was smart and all, but he lacked work ethic. He needed to cheat so their parents wouldn't kill him.

He also cheated to get closer to Finnley, but she didn't know that.

"How was your day?" Finnley asked.

"Fine," he replied. "Today was just fine."

By the look on his face, Finnley bet that he was more than fine.

She looked back at the sky, closing her eyes and thinking of algorithms. She could feel herself getting calmer with each equation, and after a minute, she looked back at Nick.

"What does 'fine' mean?" Finnley asked. Nick turned his head to her at the question.

"Fine means amazing, in this case," Nick responded, his smile growing.

"Tell me," Finnley said, being the pushy twin sister she always was. "Why was today so amazing?"

Nick waited a moment before responding. "Well, there's this girl. She just moved back here after leaving for a bit. And I totally scored with her!"

"'Scored'?" Finnley smirked. "How so?"

"I got her number, and we're going out this weekend."

So, her brother was more of a gentleman than she thought.

"Good for you, bro," she said, patting his back. "I have to go do something," she added, standing up and walking across the roof to her window. Finnley ducked down and went through the opened glass, feet-first.

When she got inside of her room, which looked like it had been hit with a hurricane, Finnley immediately close the window and shut the curtains. No one will see her. No one.

Finnley took a seat at her desk and opened her blue laptop. While it started up, she stared at a picture she couldn't bear to get rid of – a picture of her, Hailey, Cameron, and Jaime sitting in the representative's chairs in congress. It sat framed next to all the codes and information she kept on her desk and wall.

When her laptop sang it's wake-up song, Finnley was pulled out of her nostalgic trance and into hacking-mode. She did her usual rounds – grades for Nick and the occasional Facebook of an unfortunate bitch who deserved a little random hate-message as her status. But when she got to her family's bank account, her last thing to check, her heart stopped.

They were nearly bankrupt.

"What the hell…" she trailed off in shock.

Finnley even refreshed the page several times before the balance changed. _Thank goodness, _she thought. _False alarm._

But her heart stopped again when she actually looked at how much money they had: one hundred dollars less than seconds before.

Finnley started to panic. _How will I go to college? What about my car that Mom and Dad were supposed to get me for my birthday? What about our house?_

_There has to be a way to save us_, she thought.

Then it hit her. She didn't even think of the consequences before she was in another account, transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars into their family's account. She finished in two minutes flat, giving her family nearly a million dollars – the amount they should have had to start with.

She suddenly started to worry. She covered up all of her tracks and cleared her computer's history. She did anything she could think of to protect herself.

If she could have erased her short-term memory, she would have.

Finnley was a criminal.


	5. Chapter 5

Cameron sat in the passenger seat of the Archer family vehicle: a big, black Lexus SUV. Nick drove while making small talk with Cameron about baseball and anything that popped into his mind.

Cameron could tell he was nervous - he was talking fast and stuttering a lot, which didn't seem like him at all. She thought it was kind of cute.

They were on their way to some restaurant - Nick described it as the upcoming Olive Garden - and then a movie. It was a stereotypical date in a storybook setting with two random characters placed in the plot.

Cameron reached for the radio and Nick didn't protest. It gave him a break from making up subjects to talk about, after all. Early 80's music swam in the car, and the couple bobbed their heads with the beat. Cameron imitated the singer and Nick laughed.

They arrived at the restaurant a little after seven. Cameron danced obscurely to the door of the joint and Nick followed behind, his head back in laughter and his hands in his pockets. He held open the door for his date - he was a gentleman, after all - and followed closely behind Cameron after she went in. "Archer, party of two," he told the hostess.

She led them to their seats: two wooden chairs at a white-covered table next to a large window. They could see the full moon and all the stars, since Hallberg wasn't a huge city that had a lot of light pollution. TVs were scattered around the room, all of them replaying the news report about the four girls from Roseville, Pennsylvania who were blackmailed by someone who always signed "A".

Nick pulled out the chair for Cameron before the hostess could even get close. Cameron sat, giving him a thankful smile. Nick sat across from her, picking up a menu. "Wine?" he asked, flipping through the pages.

"No, but thanks," Cameron replied. She could get plastered on the second date. Just not the first.

The first date was where she planer to keep her innocent reputation - joking, friendly, and certainly not pushy. Cameron didn't need alcohol to ruin her plans.

They discussed food - Nick settled for chicken Parmesan and Cameron went for the fettuccine Alfredo - and then the serious talking started.

"Would you rather be here or in Milwaukee?" Nick asked, leaning forward.

Cameron let the question sit for a moment before she actually processed it. "Well, it really depends on what the town offers. In Milwaukee, I have good, close friends, but here..." she trailed off.

Nick realized that she was referring to Hailey Yorkshire. "Hey, maybe if you give this town a second shot, you'll find more than what you had before!"

Cameron couldn't tell if he was talking about their potential relationship or not. Or maybe he was referring to new friends - school started that Monday, which was only two days away, after all.

"Maybe I will," Cameron responded. She suddenly became eager to change the subject. "How's Finnley?"

Nick shrugged. "Still a geek. Still mysterious. Still my twin." He paused. "She never has friends over anymore, though. I think she's never had friend's like you all used to be."

Cameron thought back to her times in Milwaukee. Her friends Wisconsin didn't dare to take risks like Hailey, provide inside access like Jaime, or be the brains of the operation like Finnley. They were your average joes who lived each day as if they did have more than just tomorrow. They didn't seem to try loving to the fullest.

Cameron thought on it and realized that, all though her Milwaukee friend's were what she wanted, they weren't what this Hallberg girl needed.

"Does she still hack stuff?" Cameron asked, pulling herself out of her thoughts.

"You name it, she could hack it," Nick responded cooly. "She generally tends to use her technological powers for good, though."

Cameron smiled at his joking tone. "Doesn't she have a boyfriend now?"

"Yeah, she does," he said, a little unamused. He obviously didn't like Finnley's boyfriend. "Some big jock guy who would never go for a girl like her if they didn't go to Virginia Tech's summer programs together."

Cameron faintly remembered times in the summer when their quartet was turned into a trio, but suddenly became a quartet again after a few weeks.

"So you don't think he actually likes her?" Cameron asked.

Nick shook his head. "Not at all. He's probably using her for grades or whatever."

"You know, it's really cute that you're all protective over your sibling," Cameron said before she realized how straightforward she was being.

Nick smiled, holding her hand over the table. "You're pretty cute, too."

Cameron felt herself blushing. It was not like Cameron Max to blush.

Cameron felt the vibration of her phone in her pocket, do she sent Nick a look of regret before pulling her hand away and fishing through her pocket. Out came the blackberry she had been using for years. She read the text quickly.

Cameron,

You may have a little romance thing going on with this hottie right now, but remember what you did to your parents's relationship. I will expose you, bitch.

- A

Cameron's eyes went wide and Nick noticed. "What does it say?"

"It's just my dad," she lied. "He said my grandma is in the hospital."

"Would you like to go home?" he asked, searching her eyes for a response.

Cameron took a shaky breath. "Yeah."


	6. Chapter 6

"This is it," Walker said, opening his arms to his dorm room at Virginia Tech.

Jaime took a step inside of the room he and her brother shared. They had recently moved in and it was Jaime's first time seeing the room.

Peter sat on his bed, which was messy and would be intolerable if it was like that back in Hallberg. Jaime had a hunch that if their mother found out about the clutter Peter had here, then she would eagerly drive an hour or two to teach him a lesson.

"Casa de Palker," Peter jokingly said.

Jaime's jaw tightened, but she still managed to smile at his joke. "Mom would kill you right about now," she replied similarly.

"Why?" he asked. "Because my dorm is messy or because of my relationship status?"

Jaime winced, but managed to make it barely noticeable. "The mess," she clarified.

"I think either would do it for her," Walker laughed. "Your mom always wants things done her way!"

It was true. Eden Orchman was a strict, play-by-the-rules type of person. She hated dirt and made sure that her children took showers twice a day when they lived under her roof. She also put on her nicest smile whenever anyone important was over.

There were a lot of important people over.

Jaime got the "full-tour", which didn't really show her anything but what she had already seen. After an hour, Jaime was ultimately bored of Walker and Peter's talk of football and debate team.

Jaime told the pair that she had some business back in Hallberg to attend to, but she stopped in her tracks when Peter said, "We were just about to show you this club VT has going on."

"Club?" Jaime asked uncertainly. "Aren't I too young for that?"

"The bouncer doesn't ID everyone if one person in the group has an ID," Walker explained.

"I think you'd have a lot of fun. Plus, this is your only opportunity to unwind before you spend weeks confined in Hallberg," Peter added.

Jaime thought about the offer. On one hand, she'd have Walker to herself - kind of. On the other, Peter and Walker could pretend that they're drunk just to be excused from any gay-gestures they make towards each other.

Jaime agreed.

Walker took her hand as they walked out of the dorm, smiling at her as if he only had eyes for her. Jaime noticed a welt on his neck and felt a bit neurotic.

She cast a glance at Peter when they walked across Virginia Tech's courtyard. He had a self-satisfied smirk on his face and occasionally looked at Walker, giving him a suggestive look. Jaime quickly looks away.

Peter presented his ID to the bouncer at the club - he didn't ask for everyone else's ID, thank God - and strode into the uncrowned joint. There were a few people dotted around the wooden room. A girl danced in the middle of the room with a few guys, and several others sat at the bar, watching sports or the latest news report on the "Pretty Little Liars".

Walker went to the bar and order a round of drinks for the trio. Peter stuck by Jaime, giving any glancing guy a death stare.

"Will you stop?" Jaime asked, obviously irritated. It's wasn't everyday she got that kind of attention, and she was liking it.

"Nope," Peter simply said. "I'm your older brother and it's my job to keep college creeps off of you."

"So Walker isn't a college creep?" Jaime put her hands on her hips and stared at her brother.

"He's different."

Point taken, Jaime thought.

Walker brought back three glasses of Guinness - which was pretty upscale for a college. Peter and Waller clanked glasses, but Jaime decided not to partake in their cheers and just started to down the whole glass.

"Whoa there," Walker said, putting his hand on Jaime's back. "Don't drink it too fast."

Jaime glared at him, not particularly happy of the displays of affection towards herself and sibling. She suddenly felt rebellious and drank the rest of the glass. "I've drank alcohol before, Walker," she scoffed.

Walker glanced nervously at Peter. They were shocked, since they had Ben at most of the parties Jaime had gone to and they never once saw her with a drink.

"You...have?" Peter asked, taken aback.

"I have a life outside of being a goody-two-shoes, you know," Jaime snapped. "Do I have to bring up Hailey? You don't know all about that!"

"She disappeared in the woods, and was declared dead. What else is there to know?" Peter spat, taking a hasty drink.

Jaime thought back to the guns and fright. Peter certainly didn't know about that, because he rarely watched the news at the time and Mother never told him. It was a secret between everyone but Peter.

"Key details," Jaime mumbled, setting her glass down on the bar. "I'm leaving!"

She darted out of the college bar, acutely aware of Walker following her and the few people in the room staring. Jaime made it out of the university and into her car, driving away before Walker could catch up.

She heard her phone ring in her bag, and she picked it up while at a stoplight. She observed the screen, which informed her of her one new text. She opened it, quickly reading it over before panicking.

_Jaime,_

_Wouldn't want these pictures of a certain goody-two-shoes drinking illegally getting out to the public would you? Or maybe you would want these pictures of Walker and Peter together to get out? Not like you have a choice, bitch. You're in some deep shit._

_- A_

Attached were said pictures.

Jaime pulled over and stared at the text idly. This wasn't anything she knew how to handle.

Jaime Orchman knew how to handle everything.

_Oh god, my parents would kill me and lose their careers and-_

Jaime burst out crying.


	7. Chapter 7

Finnley stood on her front porch with her mom and her dad, waving to Nick and his mistress. Finnley made a good point of avoiding her – what else are former best friends supposed to do? – and certainly did not want to talk about Cameron and her life.

Finnley had to admit, though, that they were cute together. Nick was obviously nervous and Cameron was a little shaky herself. She obviously hasn't had a boyfriend since the Hailey thing happened, because she just didn't know what to do with Nick. It was funny.

The two pulled the family's car out of the driveway and were gone in seconds. Finnley saw Nick place his arm on the back of Cameron's chair and smiled before she went back inside.

She went up to her room, searching for her cell phone. She plopped down on the bed, flipping open the old thing and creating a message. After writing to her boyfriend asking for him to come over, she sat and waited.

It was kind of a mystery to anyone who saw the pair as to how they got together. Finnley wasn't even quite sure herself. She was kind of a nerd while also a tennis player and he was a linebacker for their school's varsity football team. He was preppy and she was not. But the couple didn't seem to care. They only had eyes for each other.

Finnley heard a faint _ding_ and scrambled to reach her phone. She read the response quickly and smiled.

_Sure, I'll come over. I'll be there in a few!_

She quickly opened her door and shouted, "Fletcher is coming over!" to her parents. She then shuffled through her closet and looked for something over than the pajamas she had been wearing all day.

She knew was Fletcher liked, and he was the kind of guy who wanted a casual meeting more than a formal one; Finnley chose red running shorts and a white t-shirt she got at a _Panic! At the Disco_ concert a few years ago. And, because she was still a nerd, Finnley put on fuzzy, polka-dotted socks to keep her feet warm and to look ridiculous.

Fletcher came over in about ten minutes. That was the benefit of having a boyfriend who only lived a few minutes away: he came over faster and you got to spend more time with him.

Finnley ran out of the house to meet him. "Fletch!" she called happily. His gorgeous face lit up when he saw her.

Fletcher liked Finnley's different looks. She had dirty blonde hair like a lot of girls in Hallberg, but she had added black streaks to it. Her hair hung in her eyes and was messy, yet stylish. She didn't pile on pound of makeup. She wasn't always tanning during the summer; she had naturally tan skin.

Meanwhile, Finnley loved Fletcher for his willingness to challenge stereotypes, but his looks were a bonus, too. He had messy brown hair and a hint of stubble growing on his face. His brown eyes were warm and welcoming. His muscular build wasn't an eyesore, either.

Fletcher wrapped Finnley in a hug and she rested her head against his chest. He was like her reassuring rock sometimes. And with thoughts of Hailey and her guilt over being a criminal coming back to her, she needed all of that that she could get.

She smiled up at him. "You want to stay here or go somewhere?"

He shrugged. "Whatever you want to do, Finn."

"Let's leave."

Finnley already had her cell phone with her, so she quickly texted her mom to tell her that she and Fletcher were leaving. They got into Fletcher's car and drove to the nearest fast-food restaurant – Fletcher and Finnley loved the extremely salty fries.

They walked in hand in hand, and each ordered before sitting down at a table with their food. "What's new?" Finnley asked, taking a bite out of her chicken sandwich.

"Well, I'm getting a job," he said, shrugging. "I have to get ready for college somehow."

Finnley thought about how she didn't need to work because of the amount of money her family now has. She winced but Fletcher didn't see.

"Where?" she asked him.

"You know the Publix down the road? I'm applying to there because the pay is good and I won't get ripped off in terms of hours," he said. "Plus, my dad is friends with the manager, so it's an easy in."

Finnley laughed. "I guess I'll have to go grocery shopping when that happens, then."

Fletcher laughed with her. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments.

"Are you going to look for work?" Fletcher asked. "You could always work with me."

"I have a feeling that if I worked with you, nothing would get done and we'd get fired!" she said, laughing. She was trying to cover up the nerves that she felt. It was as if he read her mind about not having to work.

Finnley was freaking scared.

A faint _ding_ was heard from her pocket, and Finnley sent Fletcher a sorry glance before turning to her phone. She had one text message.

_Finnley,_

_ Remember that time that you did illegal things involving transferring money and your family's bank account? So do I. I think you'd rather keep this little act to yourself, bitch, because you're not going to be able to hide it for long._

_-A_

Finnley stopped breathing for a moment.

No one was supposed to know. She had covered all of her tracks and made sure no one could see her doing anything.

_How was this possible?_


	8. Chapter 8

Jaime pulled up to the Hallberg Police Station, and almost got out of her car.

She couldn't do it.

Jaime thought over in her head what would be worse: blackmail from an unknown source plaguing her personal life or showing cops blackmail pictures of her drinking illegally. She didn't want the police to know about anything bad she's ever done – like the time Hailey and Jaime took a drag of an upperclassman's cigarette at a party during eighth grade – because it would ruin her; it wouldn't just ruin her, though…it would ruin her father's campaigning and they'd lose everything.

Jaime pulled out of the parking lot.

oOo

When the first day of school came around, Jaime held her head high and tried to block out her paranoid thoughts.

The last few days were not the best. Jaime went to Sally's beach house at Virginia Beach, but they had to stay inside because it rained. She ended up watching all three seasons of Glee while taste-testing all the drinks Sally mixed. There was fatty foods and everything.

Jaime strode through the archway that led to Hallberg High's pristine courtyard, uncertainly adjusting her shirt. She felt like she was being watched wherever she went, and it scared her.

Sally sat across the courtyard, chatting with a few of Jaime's preppy friends. Jaime sauntered over, slipping into the seat next to Sally on the wooden picnic table. Girls said hi and gave her hugs, asking her about her summer. Jaime said that it was fine, but didn't give any specifics.

Sally tossed her hands in the air and said, "Party at my house this weekend. It's going to be killer!"

The girls around Jaime cheered, drawing attention from others.

Jaime wanted to hide.

"You should bring Walker!" one of Jaime's minor friends, Anna Trainer, said.

_Yeah, no,_ Jaime thought. "He's going to his grandmother's house this weekend," she lied.

Jaime actually really wanted to take Walker to a party. It would be a chance to have him to herself. She certainly wouldn't invite _Peter_.

The girls around Jaime seemed a bit bummed about that. "Oh, okay," Anna said.

Jaime sighed as the bell rang and she went through her classes. Nothing eventful happened, besides being assigned a huge essay on her biggest influence in life on the first day of school, and she went home without a smile on her face.

Sally was waiting by Jaime's car, checking her reflection in the side mirror. "Jaime!" she called when she saw her friend out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh," Jaime said, pulled out of her trance. "Hi, Sal."

"You look like you need some fun in your life," Sally said. "Fortunately, I have the solution to all of your problems!"

Jaime gave her friend an are-you-kidding-me look.

"We're going to the gym!" Sally said, taking Jaime's car keys out of her hands and sitting down in the driver's seat. It didn't seem to matter to Sally that it wasn't her car and Jaime didn't want to go.

"Whatever is getting you down," Sally went on, "maybe a heartbreak or insecurities or whatever, can be solved after an hour or two of hard-work and satisfaction!"

Jaime's face twisted into one of dislike. "Sally, please get out of my car."

Sally was about to resist until she heard the sheer seriousness in Jaime's tone. She promptly got out of the car and closed the door.

"Bye," Jaime stonily said, getting into her car and leaving before her best friend could say a thing.

Jaime sighed while she was on the road. She may have loved Sally with all of her heart, but a little voice in the back of her mind always reminded her that she once had Hailey, and they were even better friends. With Sally, Jaime kept secrets to herself. With Hailey, Jaime shared them.

Jaime came to a stop at a red light and rubbed her temples. _Oh, God, the stuff I told Hailey, _she thought.

_It was a cold winter night and Jaime sat at her Aunt Jessica and new Uncle Jim's wedding right in her own backyard. Jaime was a little bored, being the only 13-year-old girl there, so she was all alone at the large dinner table that previously sat her mother, father, and brother as well as the bride and the groom._

_ Jaime felt a buzz in her jacket's pocket and reached for her phone, reading the message silently._

You know how my sister said she'd invite us to all of her sorority's parties if we deemed ourselves worthy? Well I told her you were at a wedding and she said to spike someone's drink to make things more interesting. She also said to record it. I'll be over in a few minutes.

_ Jaime smiled. She and Hailey had been begging to get into sorority parties but Stephanie kept holding out on them. It looked like this was their time for a real in._

_ Hailey was at Jaime's house in ten minutes, dressed in a nice floral dress that made it seem like she attended the wedding and everything. She had a video camera with her and a flask of really strong liquor._

_ "Ready?" she asked Jaime. Jaime nodded. She was actually kind of excited to see what would happen in just a matter of minutes._

_ Jaime took the flask from Hailey and strode over to the table that had drinks lined all along it. She randomly chose one and dumped the liquor, picked up a different drink and walked away without a second thought. Hailey gave her a high five at the table and held up the video camera. The little light on the front was red and blinking, and the lens picked up everything going on at the party._

_ Jaime kept her eyes trained on the drink she had spiked. After an hour of waiting, someone finally picked it up and drank the liquid, and Hailey and Jaime sat up in their seats, ready to record this for Stephanie and her sorority friends._

_ The man started choking and fell to the floor. Jaime and Hailey exchanged a nervous glance. Aunt Jessica came over to the man, shouting for help. Jaime's family was panicking around him._

_ Jaime gave Hailey back the flask and told her to go home before she got up and walked over to the man. She heard a few murmurs and came to the conclusion that he was "deathly allergic to alcohol". When Jaime came close enough to see his face, she gasped._

_ It was her newly-wed uncle, Jim._

**AN: I just want to let you all know that I'll be away this coming week and two weeks later this summer, so I might not post as often as usual. Also, if you want to know what the characters look like in the story, go to my Polyvore account to see things like that! The link is in my profile!**


	9. Chapter 9

Finnley sat in her room after the first day of school, flipping through her psychology textbook. She wasn't really paying attention to what was on the pages, though; she had other things on her mind.

The text Finnley had gotten while out with Fletcher scared the shit out of her. She had been so careful. And who even had the power to text her under an untraceable number? Finnley had become very frustrated when she couldn't figure out who the person was with her computer skills.

Honestly, Finnley didn't think it meant anything. It was creepy, but it could have just been a coincidence. Weird things happened all the time. Maybe this A person just got the wrong number.

Plus, Finnley had seen all the news reports on the Pretty Little Liars and their story. They had been blackmailed with someone under the same name for months. They even had a made-for-TV movie about it and everything. Whoever was behind this had taken the name and idea from them.

_That's so unoriginal, _Finnley thought as she closed the textbook out of frustration. It looked like she wasn't going to read the textbook's introduction for tomorrow's lesson, after all.

Finnley laid down on her bed, going through her phone and bringing up the message. She had tried several times to use the code in the message to track down whoever sent it, but she had no luck. Just the thought of Finnley's failure made her angry. She threw the phone onto the bed, not even needing it to read the message. It was imprinted in her brain.

_Remember that time that you did illegal things involving transferring money and your family's bank account? So do I. I think you'd rather keep this little act to yourself, bitch, because you're not going to be able to hide it for long._

Finnley blinked back tears. The thought of someone knowing did that to her. It was a scary thought: Finnley in a jail cell next to several other women, who were probably locked up for murder or robbery. Finnley didn't think she could ever live like that.

_I shouldn't have transferred the money, _Finnley thought. _Forget my future. I won't have one if I go to jail!_

Finnley heard a knock on her door and she called for whoever it is to come in. Nick peeked his head through the door, a look of worry on his face. "Hi," Finnley absently said, turning over so her voice was muffled by her bed.

Nick took a seat at the foot of the bed. "Finn, you haven't talked to me for a day."

Finnley knew it was true. She was really close with her twin, so there was no denying that he'd easily see that she was ignoring him. But she couldn't talk to him now.

The message from A had made her think of how Hailey knew everything. And Hailey knowing everything made Finnley think of the thing she did to Nick so long ago.

Finnley buried her head farther into her covers. _I am not going to think about that._

She rolled onto her back. "Sorry. I've been a bit worried about school."

"You did get into my teacher's accounts, right?" he whispered, looking worried. But his face quickly changed into a smile. "Just kidding. I know you did it already – you're the best, after all."

_Yeah, the best_, she thought. _I'm the best at illegal things, alright._

"What's got you worried?" he asked, lying down beside his sister.

Finnley's mind reeled for a quick response. "Psychology," she blurted, spotting her textbook at her desk. "The syllabus makes it seem really hard. I'm being paranoid."

Nick shrugged. "I took it last year – it was pretty easy. The teacher makes it look like she's going to assign a lot, but half of the material she plans to cover doesn't get covered, so she doesn't assign half of the stuff. You'll do fine."

Finnley tried to perk up so he would think she's feeling better. "Thanks," she said, putting on a tight and forced smile.

Nick stood up, backing towards the door. "No problem, Finn. If you need any psychological help, you know where I am!" He stepped outside of the room and pointed towards his room before closing the door.

Finnley laid her head down on her pillow, taking deep breaths. It looked like all the flaws of her nearly-perfect past were going to be popping up everywhere.


End file.
